Lifestyle
The woman behind the man who named Sudbury
BY VICKI GILHULA
Summer 2011 |
British researcher Valerie Herbert rummaged through census information in England and Canada to put Mrs. Worthington's story in the history book for the Sudbury Museum Trust in Suffolk. She discovered “Mrs. Sudbury” is Caroline Frances Hitchcock Worthington. Caroline was 25 when she crossed the Atlantic in 1858 with her sister Emily, in search of a better life in Canada. Perhaps the sisters were also looking for a little adventure and romance. Census information from June 1841 in the county of Suffolk, identifies Caroline F. as the second daughter of tailor John Hitchcock. John later became a “relieving" or relief officer who dealt with the community's poorest citizens. “It is likely Caroline was among the many young women who emigrated to Canada seeking work as housekeepers,” writes Herbert. Eventually five Hitchcock siblings came to Canada. Several members of Caroline's extended family, who remained on the other side of the pond served as mayor of Sudbury, Suffolk, during the 20th century. A year after coming to Canada, Caroline became the second Mrs. James Worthington. Worthington, who was 10 years older than Caroline, was a widower with four children. The couple married in Toronto on March 16, 1859. At the time, James and his brother owned a construction company in Toronto. Herbert suggests Worthington may have originally hired Caroline as a housekeeper to look after his children. The Worthingtons were married for 40 years, yet there is no information regarding any of their own children. According to the Canadian census of 1881, the couple had moved from Toronto to Brockville. James was one of the investors in the Canadian Central Railway before it amalgamated with the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1883, Worthington and the CPR railway crew reached the lumber camp of Ste-Anne des Pines. With the stroke of a pen, he put Sudbury (Junction) on the map. Shortly after supervising the construction west from North Bay to Sudbury, Worthington, who was 61 at the time, was replaced as engineer. orthington resigned after a disagreement with William Van Horne, the railway builder and later president of the CPR, according to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Worthington was in the right place at the right time. He invested in promising mining properties and gave his family name to a community and a mine. By 1891, according to Toronto census information, the Worthingtons were living in Swansea, a community in the west end of Toronto. “He and Caroline were living comfortably, cared for by a cook, housemaid and coachman,” writes Herbert. Worthington owned a bolt company (Ontario Bolt Works) that employed a large workforce. He was one of the first landowners in the area and there is some evidence he may have named the community after the Welsh city. Stelco eventually bought the bolt company and ran the operation until it closed in 1989. Worthington died in 1898. Caroline lived in Toronto with several of her siblings until her death in 1905. There is no record that Caroline ever visited our Sudbury. “Canada's Sudbury could not be more of a contrast to the little English town in its lush valley on the boarder between Suffolk and Essex,” writes Herbert. Sudbury (pop 20,000) is a small, ancient town, which is now part of the administrative district of Babergh. It is located about 97 kilometres northeast of London and its history dates back to the Saxons. The first written record of the town is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles of the eighth century when the town was listed as Suthberie. The town of Sudbury is listed in William the Conqueror's Domesday Book of 1086. The woollen industry developed in the late Middle Ages. Later, skilled Flemish weavers settled in the area and this gave rise to a silk weaving industry. The famous painter, Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury in 1727. Artist John Constable was also born in the area. Both artists are known for their paintings of the romantic English countryside and villages of Suffolk. Sudbury has been used for television locations, most significantly for BBC's Lovejoy. During the Second World War, the Suffolk Regiment worked closely with Canadian troops to help break through the German line at Cassino, Italy. Members were asked to wear the Canadian maple leaf in recognition of the Canadian's support. The City of Greater Sudbury is the largest offspring of Mother Sudbury. But there are others. Sudbury is the name of a suburb in northwest London. The name means “the southern manor” according to the Brent Heritage website. In the early 17th century, Puritans left Sudbury, Suffolk, and settled in Sudbury, Mass. Today, this Sudbury is a largely white and wealthy suburb of Boston. The Sudbury River is located in Middlesex County in Massachusetts. Sudbury Park is a local community park located on Skaha Lake in the community of Penticton, B.C. For wind surfers and kite boarders, Sudbury Beach is the main point of entry to access Skaha Lake Sudbury Reef, off shore of Queensland in northwestern Australia, is located near Fitzroy Island, a paradise island. Fitzroy was named by Capt. James Cook after Augustus Henry FitzRoy, who was prime minister of Britain at the time. His formal name was the Duke of Grafton, and he was Baron of Sudbury. FitzRoy is buried in Euston, near Sudbury. Euston Hall has been home to the dukes of Grafton for more than 300 years. Henry FitzRoy, first Duke of Grafton (1663–1690), was an illegitimate son of Charles II. The11thduke died in April of this year. His wife Ann, the Queen’s Mistress of The Robes, was at his side. The Queen is the godmother of their daughter Lady Virginia FitzRoy. And makes about six degrees of separation from QEII to Greater Sudbury. The queen has visited this city twice, once in 1959 and again in 1984.
